Locking and controlling arrangement for desk drawers and the like



Maw 38, 1958 R. A. JOHNSQN LOCKING AND CONTROLLING ARRANGEMENT FOR DESK DRAWERS AND THE- LIKE Flled Nov 1, 1954 IN VEN TOR. fiEl/fi'E/U A. JOHNSON United States Pate LOCKING AND CONTROLLING ARRANGEMENT FOR DESK DRAWERS AND THE LIKE Reuben A. Johnson, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to Yawman and Erhe Manufacturing Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 1, 1954, Serial No. 466,105

1 Claim. (Cl. 312--221) This invention relates to a novel arrangement for quietly and efliciently locking and controlling the operation of desk drawers and the like.

In former desks and cabinets, particularly of the metal type, there has been a real need for an arrangement for locking and unlocking a series of drawers from a common point, which arrangement is substantially free from failure and which develops a minimum of noise and friction during its operation.

The main purpose of the present invention relates to a construction for desks and the like which satisfies the mentioned need.

The various features and advantages of the present invention will appear from the detailed description and claims when taken with the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a commercial desk incorporating the present invention;

Fig. 2 is, anenla rged cross section of the desk taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, the case strips and the drawer strips at the right side of the pedestal being omitted for simplicity in disclosure;

Fig. 3 is a detailed view comprising a fragment of one corner of the knee space drawer together with its related cam bracket which is in cooperative position with respect to its related latch bar;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view of a rear corner of the knee space drawer, this drawer being shown as turned through ninety degrees from its position illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a latch bar;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view showing a fragment of the case strip for the knee space drawer;

Fig. 7 is a cross section through the case strip and its cooperating drawer strip of the knee space drawer;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a case strip and a cooperating drawer strip of any one of the side drawers; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of any one of the case strips used on the pedestals.

While the present invention is applicable to various types of, desks and cabinets, it is herein illustrated as incorporated in a metal business desk. This desk comprises the desk top 5 adapted to be secured to the cross strips 6, which in turn are attached on the tops of two drawer pedestals 7. These pedestals are separated to provide a knee space S. The opposing side surfaces of the drawer pedestals 7 defining the knee space S, have mounted thereon opposed case strips 8 to telescopically receive therein the drawer strips 9 mounted on each side of the center, knee-space drawer D. This drawer controls the locking and unlocking of the remaining desk drawers 10 as will be described. Each case strip 8 is conveniently in the form of a horizontally extending channel-shaped stamping provided with an upper flange 8' and a spaced lower flange 8" (Figs. 6 and 7). The drawer strip 9 is similarly in the form of a channel-shaped stamping with its lower flange 9 sliding on the lower case flange 8".

The upper flange 9 of the drawer strip, is below the case flange 8' and, for the most part, slides free of the case flange 8 but this case flange is engaged by the upper drawer flange Q to prevent tipping of the drawer during a portion of its extreme outer movement.

The desk pedestals are each provided with vertically arranged slidable side drawers it} which are locked and unlo under the control of the knee space drawer D. Each side drawer if at each of its sides, is provided with an angle-shaped drawer strip 11 having a flange 11' (Fig. 8). The respective drawer strips 11 on each drawer engage opposing channel-shaped case strips 12 on the inner side surfaces of their pedestal 7. Each case strip has horizontally extending flanges formed, respectively, with rolled upper edge 12 (Fig. 9) and a lower rolled edge 12'. The rolled edge 12' cooperates with the flange it. of its related drawer strip.

Each drawer 16 also has secured on each of its outer side surfaces, a drawer stop 13 comprising a latch frame on which a spring latch 14 with its hook 15 is pivoted. A

spring 1 normally urges the hook 15 of this latch downward until the latch handle engages the flange stop 16 of the latch frame. The latch hooks 15 on the inside surfaces of a stack of drawers, when in closed position, are located in position to be engaged respectively by the spaced lugs 17 on a vertical latch bar 3.8 (Figs. 2 and 5). It will be understood that there is a latch bar 18 for each pedestal mounted in fixed parts thereon, for limited vertical sliding movement. The upper-end'of each latch bar 18 is provided with a laterally extending hook 19 having a kerf 19 therein. The kerfs a? of the two hooks 19 are adapted to engage, respectively, the rearwardly downwardly inclined cam surfaces 2% of two brackets, which are mounted, respectively, on the respective rear corners of the central, knee-space drawer D. It will be appreciated that as the drawer D is forced to its innermost position, where it is held by a key-actuated lock 21 (Fig. 1), the inclined surfaces 2%} of the lift brackets will engage the kerfs 19' of the latch bars 18 to elevate the lugs 17 thereon into position to be engaged by the respective latch hooks .15 of the stops 13 adjacent the knee space. if a drawer it is partially open, when the latch bar is in its elevated position, this drawer can be locked along with its companion drawers by forcing the open drawer to its closed position. This action causes the latch hook 15 of the drawer in question, to ride over and to snap behind the related lug 17 on its latch bar.

When it is desired to unlock all of the drawers, the lock 21 of the knee space drawer D is unlocked. As soon as this drawer is unlocked, ejectors in the form of the spring-actuated plungers i mounted on the case strips 8 (Fig. 6) engage parts on the rear surface of the drawer front, to force the knee-space drawer D outward. As this drawer moves outward, the inclined surfaces 20 on the knee space drawer engage the latch bar hooks 19 and lower the latch bars and thereby lower the lugs 17 thereon out of the range of the latch hooks 15 on the several side drawers it; so that any of them can be freely opened as desired.

From the foregoing, it will be noted that the cam surfaces 2% of the brackets, mounted on the rear corners of the drawer D, cooperate with the respective hooks 19 of the latch bars 13 so that their lugs 17 are positively moved respectively into locking and unlocking positions, as the drawer D is fully closed and opened, respectively.

it has been mentioned that each side drawer 10 is provided with a pair of stops 13, one stop 13 being provided at each side of its drawer. While the drawer stop 13, which is adjacent the knee space, cooperates with the latch bar 18 in locking and unlocking its side drawer, both stops 13 on this drawer engage fixed lugs 22 (Figs. 2 and 3) to limit the normal outward movement of the 'rnetal so that there is considerable fric vdeveloped between conventional moving d conventional fixed case strips on whichrthey slide.

drawer. Thus a side drawcr cannot be unintentionally pulled clear out of the desk. When, however, it is desired to completely withdraw a side drawer to separate it from the desk, the spring latches 14 at each side of the Former deslcs or" this type are usually made of sheet and noi er strips In accordance with'a feature of the invention, a nylon, or similar button 23 (Fig. 6) is secured in the lower flange 18" of each case strip on which a drawer strip 9 of the center drawer D, glides. Thus friction is reduced so that the center or knee space drawer can be quietly ejected by the rubber-faced plungers P. Similarly the upper rolled edge 12 of each side strip 12 is provided with a nylon or other composition glider 2 (Fig, 9) to insure the quiet and easy sliding movement of the side drawers 10. Specifically each nylon glider 24 is in the form of a tubular piece of slightly greater diameter than that of the rolled edge 12'. A rodZS, which is driven through the perforation in the glider and into the opening in the rolled edge 12, retains the glider in the position shown.

It will be understood that the present disclosure is given 7 by way of example of one embodiment of this invention and that there can be various modifications and changes ,thereof within the scope of the appended claim without 7 on the opposing sides of said pedestals, a main drawer slidable between said pedestals and provided on its upposite sides with drawer strips which slide on said case strips, a pair of cam members projecting from the rear of said main drawer, one adjacent each of the two opposite rear corners of said main drawer, a plurality of side drawers slidably mounted in each of said pedestals, a spring-actuated catch pivotally mounted on each side drawer, a latch bar mounted in each of said pedestals for vertical sliding movement therein, each latch bar having a plurality of vertically spaced lugs, there being as many lugs on one latch bar as there are side drawers in one pedestal, each of said latch bars having a lateral projection at its upper end which projects laterally behind said main drawer, each lateral projection being provided with a lqerf adapted to register with and to receive one of said nembcrs when said main drawer is closed, whereby cam members operate, when said main drawer is closed, to move the associated latch bars and bring the lugs thereon into position to be engaged by the catches San .on the associated side drawers when said associated side drawers are closed and whereby when said main drawer is opened said latch bars are moved to move said lugs out of operative relation with said'catches.

References Cited in the fileof this patent i Abrahamson ln July 21, 1953 

